RWBY: Team Bayard
by AnUnusualVisitor
Summary: There are many things going on in the kingdom of Vale. However, up in the frosty kingdom of Atlas, four young students find themselves having problems of their own. Flare is not the most popular or well known school for Huntsmen and Huntresses, but it does have one unique quality: many of the students have been sent there to be forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Well_, Edom thought. _This is it._

She looked at the scene before her. The academy of Flare, surrounded by pine trees and snow. It was oddly quiet, which was surprising, considering that it was the first day.

_That's soon to change, though_. Edom grinned. _This place won't know what hit it._

"Miss Cadenza?"

Edom spun around.

Her aide stumbled up to her, cart full of luggage in tow. "Miss Cadenza, I hope you aren't planning on leaving soon. We need to deliver your luggage." His brow was furrowed with stress.

Edom sighed inwardly. _I won't be getting up to much with THIS idiot hanging around._ "Hey, uh… Greg, is it?"

"G-Gregory, yes."

"Why don't YOU drop off my luggage while I, you know, join the other students? It'll be faster!"

"Oh, no, Miss Cadenza, I'm afraid I can't do that. Your parents have given me the task to watch over you this first day, and I plan to uphold it."

_I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy._ "Hey, do we still have everything, by the way?"

"Oh, yes, Miss Cadenza. I checked."

She looked at the piles of luggage and bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

"I… I'll check again." He turned around and started checking the luggage.

_Sucker_. Edom zoomed off in the direction of the academy.

The more Edom walked around, the less sure she felt. The grounds were practically empty; there wasn't a single student in sight. _Why aren't there more students? This is the first day back, shouldn't it be bustling?_

Her shoulders were getting cold. She started walking more swiftly to warm up. _I wouldn't be surprised if they sent me on the wrong day. Mom and Dad are oh so busy that they probably messed it up. Ah, well. It's better than hanging out in our stuffy old mansion._

"Excuse me."

Edom jumped and spun in the direction of the voice.

There was a heavily garbed figure standing in the snow. Their face was obscured by a balaclava. "The assembly hall is this way. The rest of the students are there." The voice sounded like a woman's.

"Um, okay."

"Follow me." The figure started walking.

The walk was, for the most part, pretty quiet. Edom found herself squirming. _Okay, if they're not gonna speak, I am. _Edom opened her mouth to speak.

"By the way, you might want to consider getting warmer clothes. You'll catch your death in that outfit you're wearing, even with your Aura."

Edom looked down at her expensive and fancy combat dress, ripped to tatters at the bottom and along the collar. She grinned. "Not if I outrun the cold."

The figure said nothing.

They reached a large door. The figure knocked twice. The door opened, and a figure who looked almost identical to the first peered out. "Found another one?" This one sounded male.

The woman nodded. "Is it time to switch shifts?"

"Yup."

Edom and the woman switched places with the man. The man started to shut the door, but stopped. "This time, try not to drink MY hot chocolate, okay?"

The woman shook her head. "No promises."

The man grumbled something and shut the door.

The woman started to take off her balaclava.

Edom had watched the scene with quiet interest. Finally, some words slipped out. "Who are you people?"

The balaclava came off. Iridescent pink hair fell down in two neat braids.

Edom's eyebrows shot up. _Wow. That is some REALLY purdy hair._

The woman gave her a bemused look. "I'm Gretel. That man who just left…" She gestured towards the door. "…was my brother Hands."

Edom blinked. "Wait, Hands? As in-"

"Yes, as in those things attached to your arms. Our father was not a very creative man. We work on the grounds here, so you'll be seeing plenty of us. Let's get you to the assembly hall." She started walking.

_Geez. And I thought MY name was bad._ Edom walked to keep up with her. "So, everyone's in the assembly hall?"

"Everyone who's arrived, yes. Only one of the jets has come on time. The other… seems to be delayed. Bad weather, probably."

"Oh."

Edom and Gretel entered the assembly hall. Inside, there was a fairly big crowd of students milling around, fiddling with their things, or talking and laughing. Edom could see two other adults near the back, occasionally glancing at the students. They seemed pretty preoccupied.

"It was nice chatting to you. I'll see you later." Gretel left.

_Okay, it's time to shine_. Edom stepped forward and prepared to announce her presence.

"Oh, oh my goodness! What happened to your DRESS?"

Edom started and looked around for the source of the noise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you? Sorry!" It was another young woman. She was pale, with platinum blonde hair in a loose pleat on her shoulder and deep blue eyes. She smiled sheepishly. "Heh. Hi! Sorry, my name is Aurora."

"Whoa! Hey, stop apologizing, it's fine." Edom shot what she hoped was her most charming grin. "The name's Crimson. Crimson Cadenza."

Aurora's eyes widened with recognition. "Cadenza? Isn't that one of the richest families in Alain?"

Edom shrugged. "Yeah, sure, I guess. So, hey, what did you say about my dress?"

"Oh! Well, I just noticed that… your dress…"

Edom spun around in place. "You like it? I added my own personal touches, of course."

"Well, uh…" She stammered a bit. "It's great! It's just great." Edom thought she saw her tuck a needle and thread somewhere into a pouch. "So, you just arrive here?"

"Yup. Did you?"

"Actually, we arrived about twenty minutes ago." Aurora looked around. "There are a lot fewer people than I thought there would be, though."

"Yeah. So, hey, you wanna go stir up some trouble or something?"

Aurora looked alarmed. "Trouble? Why?"

"This place is kinda boring, don't you think?"

Aurora bit her lip, looking indecisive. "Uhhh-" Her face lit up. "Actually, there's someone I've been trying to talk to! She seems pretty lonely, so maybe we should go… speak to her?"

Edom blinked slowly. _Sheesh. This lady's a goody-two-shoes. Well, fine._ "Um, okay. Who is she?"

"She's over there." Aurora pointed at a figure sitting against the wall.

Edom looked at where she was pointing.

It was a young woman. She was dressed in tattered, plain clothing with a gray cloak. She had a bright blue ribbon in her light brown hair. She seemed to be intently focused on sorting through her pack, which was equally as tattered as the rest of her garb.

_Huh. I guess she's into ripped clothing, too. This could be interesting._ "Sure. Let's go talk to her."

Aurora looked practically giddy. "Thanks! I tried talking to her a bit earlier, but she didn't reply much. Maybe you'll change things!"

They walked over to the blue girl.

* * *

Azura ran over the portions in her head. _Four packs dried meat, six packs dried fruit, one loaf of bread, one canteen of water, one first aid kit-_

"Yo."

Azura's concentration broke. She slowly looked up.

A girl in a red dress stood above her. She had short black hair and red eyes. Beside her stood the girl from earlier, the one with platinum blonde plaited hair.

"Hello," Azura cautiously replied.

The girl in red grinned. "The name's Crimson. What's yours?"

Azura waited a moment before responding. "Azura."

"Cool. Hey, I really like your whole tattered look." The girl spun around. "It's kind of like mine."

_Tattered… "look"? What's she talking about?_ Azura was used to being teased about her clothes, but a "look"? Then Azura noticed the girl's dress.

It was a gorgeous, gothic-style crimson dress. Well-made, intricate. Also clearly made out of a sturdy, combat-resistant material. And it was ripped to shreds. _The money used to make that dress could have fed several neighborhoods, and this girl just… tore it apart._ A seed of anger formed in Azura's gut. She turned her attention back to her pack.

It was a few seconds before Crimson spoke again. "So, what're you doing?"

"Preparing my pack," Azura replied. "Something you probably wouldn't know much about." The words slipped out before Azura knew what happened. She looked up.

Crimson didn't seem too pleased. "Hey, you got a problem with me?"

_Well, I guess this is happening._ "I have a problem with people who waste what they have."

Crimson looked incredulous. "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

Aurora, who had been watching off to the side, looked nervous. "Hey, you two, maybe we should-"

"No, Aurora, I think that if 'Azura' here has a problem with me, then she should spit it out." Crimson crossed her arms and glared at Azura.

_I'm not getting into a fight here._ Azura willed her anger to subside and shook her head. "I'm done talking. I have work to do."

"Miss Edom! Miss Edom Cadenza!" A well-dressed man suddenly burst into the assembly hall and started running towards the three of them. "Miss Edom Cadenza, please don't run away from me like that again!"

Crimson turned white as a sheet.

Aurora seemed confused. "'Edom'? I thought you said your name was Crimson."

"Crimson" hid her face, looking exasperated.

"Miss Cadenza, you know that I'm not allowed to leave your side." The man looked out of breath. "I brought your overnight bag." He held up a suitcase.

Edom snatched it away from him like he had a disease. "Yeah, thanks, whatever."

Azura felt some small, dark satisfaction from seeing her embarrassed. She tried not to let it show. "Well, Edom, I have some organizing to do, so if you don't mind…"

Edom seemed angry to hear her name. "Don't call me-" She stopped herself. "Fine. Sure. Nice meeting you, Azura. Come on, Aurora, let's leave package girl to whatever."

Aurora looked indecisive. "But… uh… okay?"

They walked away. Aurora stole one last glance at Azura.

Azura sighed. _Well. That could have gone better. Looks like I've made another enemy._ That Aurora girl had seemed fairly nice when Azura spoke to her earlier, but she was pretty sure that she was just like the other rich people that Azura had spent her school days with.

Azura went back to counting.

* * *

Aurora just didn't know what went wrong.

They had gone over there to talk to her, and be nice to her, and they were supposed to have become super awesome buddies by now! Aurora knew there was a chance it wouldn't work, but she didn't think it would go so BADLY.

_I really hope Azura doesn't hate me now,_ Aurora thought. Then she remembered what had happened earlier. She turned back to Crimson- or rather, Edom.

Edom looked pretty moody after the encounter. She seemed to be very keen on ignoring the man who had run in to join her.

Aurora felt really awkward. "So, uh, your name isn't Crimson?"

The man piped up. "Correct. Miss Edom Cadenza is the twelfth daughter of the house Cadenza-"

"Yeah, thanks, Greg." Edom rolled her eyes. "It's such a dumb name. I hate it," she muttered.

_Oh. That would explain it._ Aurora tried to smile comfortingly. "I-If you want, I can still call you Crimson."

Edom seemed a bit cheered up by that. She smiled. "Nah. But thanks."

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone hitting a microphone. The assembly hall fell silent. A man stepped up to the podium on the stage. He had a very short and stocky build, with brown hair and deep green eyes. He looked at some papers over the glasses perched on his nose, then cleared his throat. "Good day, first year students," he said. "I am Oliver Fafnir, the Deputy Headmaster of Flare. Unfortunately, the jets carrying the other students have been delayed. Because of this, orientation will not be tomorrow, but two days from now. In the meantime, you'll be acquainted with the facilities and grounds of Flare. Dinner will be in an hour, and bedtime will be at eight. Thank you."

Mr. Fafnir stepped down from the podium.

Edom groaned. "More waiting? Sheesh. I didn't know this would be so boring."

Aurora looked up at the ceiling, her thoughts in other places. "I really hope the jet will be okay…"

Edom shrugged. "It's just a bit of bad weather. They'll be fine."

"But sometimes, when you think everything will be fine, it-" Aurora caught herself. "I mean, I'm sure they'll be fine! I know it! I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me." Aurora laughed nervously.

Edom seemed surprised.

"So, uh, is there something you wanted to do? Let's-let's go do something!"

Edom looked at Greg, still nearby. "Yeah, okay."

They went off to do "something."

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

Aurora and Edom, upon finding nothing to do that was really interesting, chose instead to sit down and talk about their lives.

Edom learned that Aurora had three moms, none of whom were married to each other. She also learned that Aurora was REALLY good at sewing. And knitting. And crocheting. Basically, she was good with anything involving thread.

Aurora learned that Edom was the youngest of twelve daughters.

And that she didn't really like to talk about her family.

That was pretty much it.

Soon enough, it was dinnertime, which was also kind of uneventful. The food was pretty good, though. Very warm.

After that, it was bedtime. Since students didn't get rooms until their teams were formed, everyone slept in the assembly hall in sleeping bags. The people who forgot theirs were given spares owned by the school.

Edom and Aurora had sleeping bags close to each other and were opening some of their stuff.

* * *

_Thank everything that Greg is gone. I can't imagine how awkward this would all be if he were still here._ Edom rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I really hope tomorrow's more interesting. This day kinda sucked."

"Well, we met each other," Aurora cheerfully replied. "At least that's something!"

"Yeah." Edom looked down at the sleeping bags. Aurora's looked amazing, probably because she made it herself, and-

_Whoa, what's that?_ Among Aurora's stuff was a weird, large, circular thing. It stood out among her other things. The shadows were hiding it, though. "Hey, what's that? It looks cool!"

"Oh, this?" Aurora picked it up. It looked like a huge, metal spinning wheel, except without the stand thing at the bottom. It had some holes on its outside edge. "It's my weapon. Its name is Rêveroue."

"Really? Awesome! How does it work?" Edom leaned forward, intently looking at it.

Aurora yanked it back. "Please be careful! The safety's on now, but if I activated it, the spikes could hurt you!"

Edom grinned. "Spikes? Really? Okay, you've gotta activate it now."

Aurora looked aghast. "I can't! I'm pretty sure it's not allowed!"

"Pretty please?"

"I'm sorry, but… no." Aurora looked really nervous.

Edom bit her lip. "Well, I guess I'll show you mine, then. Then you HAVE to show me what it looks like activated, okay?"

Aurora looked even more alarmed. "Wait, don't-"

"Relax! I'm not gonna do anything. I'll just show 'em to you." Edom reached into one of her bags and pulled out her weapons.

They were red dagger-things, curved so that the blade went outwards. Edom showed them to Aurora. Aurora seemed fascinated for a moment, but then the concern returned. "Um-"

"These are my babies. And together, they form-" Edom pressed the bottom of the hilts together. They interlocked with a click. "-Sanguvalzer! Also, a boomerang thing. Really cool."

Aurora flashed a weak smile. "That's… nice?"

"Okay, so now you have to-"

"A-HEM."

Edom started. She'd been so focused on her weapons that she hadn't noticed her surroundings! _I REALLY hate how people here keep sneaking up on me._ She looked up.

It was that guy. From earlier. _Olive Something-or-other._ He didn't look very impressed. "I had hoped that I'd made it clear earlier that weapons weren't to be taken out except in the approved facilities at approved times. This is not one of them."

Aurora shrunk. "Eep. Sorry."

Edom's mouth twitched. "We were just looking at them."

"And there's a chance that you would have accidentally hurt yourself or someone else here. We're not in battle gear right now. Believe me, you'll have plenty of time to show off later. Put those away now."

Edom frowned and put them away. _Jeez. Authority figures._ She'd always had a problem with them. But she couldn't bring herself to hate him completely. There was something about him that reminded her of someone she knew.

Still, she had the urge to egg him on. "So, why're you hanging around a bunch of teenagers in pajamas, anyway? Weirdo."

His eyebrows went up. "To make sure you young folk don't get in trouble. Looks like I was right on time. Anyway, it'll be lights out soon. I hope you don't plan on getting into any midnight escapades. There WILL be guards." He walked away.

Edom turned back to Aurora.

Aurora's mouth was open in disbelief. "D-did you seriously talk that way to the DRAGON?"

"The what?"

"Oliver Fafnir! The Dragon! He's known for being ferocious in battle!" Aurora shook her head. "It's one thing to talk like that to a teacher, but…"

Edom looked at the Olive guy's departing figure. "Him?"

Aurora sighed. "You really like to get into trouble, don't you? What if we get expelled?"

Edom waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. If he's such an important guy, I'm sure he won't be hurt by a few words." Edom realized something. "Wait, we? Why we?"

Aurora shrugged. "Well, they might find me guilty by association, right? Now that we're friends." She paused, awkward. "We… are friends now, right? Sorry, I kind of assumed-"

Edom grinned. "Yeah. We're totally friends."

Aurora smiled. "Yay!"

"Lights out! Stop talking!"

The lights went out. Reluctantly, Edom and Aurora lowered themselves into their sleeping bags.

A few minutes passed, and Edom felt she couldn't close her eyes. _This is so weird_. She spoke in a hushed voice. "Hey, Aurora, isn't this weird? I've never really slept in the same room as so many people before, with so many wide, open spaces. It's freaking me out. I'm used to my room."

There was a pause before Aurora replied. "For me, it's kind of the opposite, actually. I don't mind beds, but I prefer big spaces. I get scared in small rooms and tiny places."

"Really? I-"

A guard was passing by. They made a shush noise.

"Well, good night, Aurora."

"Good night, Edo- Crimson."

Edom smiled at the attempt. She turned over and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The awakening wasn't a rude one, but it sure felt like it. Edom woke up to the sound of bells chiming at eight o' clock in the morning with bed hair and sleepy eyes.

Aurora seemed to be the exact opposite. "Good morning! Isn't this day going to be exciting? I'm so excited!"

Edom blinked a few times. "S' too early."

"Yes, but there are going to be so many new things today! I'm really, really excited!" Aurora clapped her hands together with glee.

Edom rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, cool. Okay."

Aurora looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

Edom looked at Aurora through blurry eyes. "How the heck do you have so much energy?"

Aurora giggled. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be up and about in just a bit. Let's get changed and go eat!"

* * *

They were back in the assembly hall, all the sleeping bags cleared away, and after a good breakfast, and the energy from food in her belly, Edom's attitude did a complete flip.

"This day is going to be AWESOME." Edom jumped up and down. "I am PUMPED."

Aurora was equally giddy. "I know, right?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to see what happens next!"

The tapping of a microphone was heard. Gradually, everyone quieted down.

It was Oliver Fafnir at the mic again. "Good morning, students. I see that many of you have a lot of energy today. Unfortunately, the jet carrying the next students won't be arriving here until two pm. In the meantime, we'll split you into multiple groups for tours, and then we'll expect you to do a few tasks in preparation for these newcomers. As a reward for your help, you'll be given some small gifts to help you start your semester."

Edom was not pleased. "Tasks? And _tours_? Sheesh. We'll have so much fun today."

Aurora smiled. "Don't worry! I'm sure it'll be fun as long as we stick together."

* * *

The tours weren't terrible, all things considered. Edom and Aurora got sorted into the same group, so they often found themselves talking when things got too boring.

The chores were where things started to go wrong.

"All right, so now we're going to split off into twos." Hands had been their tour guide. Turns out, his hair was also pink, but it wasn't iridescent like Gretel's. "So, you'll go with him, and you…" He started pairing people off.

"We've got this in the bag," Edom muttered to Aurora.

"Yup!" She was still very cheery.

"And _you_, Aurora, will be paired with Morgan."

Edom started. "What? Hey!"

Hands looked at her. "You two have been talking all day! You can work with someone else for a bit."

Edom frowned. "Well, who am I working with, then?

Hands pointed. "You'll work with Azura over there."

_Oh. No._ Edom slowly turned to where he was pointing.

Sure enough, there was Azura. She didn't look very happy, either.

_Not stuck-up girl! There has to be some way I can get out of this! _"I don't think-"

"Great here are the brooms you've got the front entrance BYE!" Hands left in a flash.

Silence followed.

Azura leaned the broom against her shoulder. "Let's get to work," she said.

* * *

Aurora had to admit, she was missing Edom. _Crimson_, she corrected herself. Crimson said Aurora didn't have to call her that, but Aurora knew she preferred that name. _Well, maybe I can talk to my partner here! _She looked over at the person she was working with.

She was a young woman with long, curly brown hair and sea green eyes. Her skin was slightly tan. She seemed pretty preoccupied with cleaning the windows.

Aurora smiled. "Hi! I'm Aurora Labroche, what's your name?"

The young woman paused. "Morgan. Morgan Fae. Like Hands said."

Aurora began to feel sheepish. "Great! My name is Aurora."

Morgan adjusted her glasses and kept cleaning the window. "You said that already."

_Oh, dear._ Aurora felt her cheeks turning red. "Um… nice weather?"

Morgan sighed. "It's nothing personal, but I'm not much of a conversationalist. That's more like my half brother over there." She gestured with her thumb behind her.

An energetic young man that seemed to be the same age was excitedly chatting to his partner.

Morgan kept cleaning the window. "So if you don't mind, I'd prefer to work in silence."

Aurora's heart sank. "Okay." She kept working on the windows. _I am really missing Crimson._

* * *

A lot of the time that Edom and Azura worked was spent in silence. Azura seemed to be pretty focused on the work.

The only sounds in the hall were the sounds of the metal brooms.

Edom wouldn't have minded the silence so much if it weren't so **tense**. _This sweeping reminds me of all those detentions I got back in combat school. Ugh. _"This sucks," Edom muttered.

Azura looked up, expression flat. "Did you say something?"

Edom shook her head. "Never mind." She kept sweeping.

A few minutes later, Edom found her thoughts wandering. _What the heck is this girl's deal, anyway? "Waste what I have?" How would this girl know what I have-_

"You're holding the broom wrong."

Edom looked up. "What?"

Azura was still sweeping. "The way you're holding the broom is wrong. If you sweep like that, all the dust will just go to either side of the broom."

Edom felt annoyance bubble up. "Yeah, I've worked with a broom before, I know what I'm doing."

Azura seemed skeptical. "Is that so?"

Edom felt herself becoming angry. "What's your deal with me, anyway? First you go off on me when I try to say hi, and now you're judging my sweeping skills?"

"I was trying to help."

"At what point? When you insulted me? When?"

Azura sighed and stopped sweeping. "Look. I can tell we aren't going to get along. But if you sweep the way you're doing it now, you're going to make this even harder."

Edom's frustration didn't ease. "I know how to use a broom, okay? I was just spacing out."

Azura started sweeping again. "Then don't space out. Just work."

Edom gritted her teeth and continued sweeping. "What, are you always just about 'work, work, work' all the time?"

"I'd prefer to actually focus on the task at hand, unlike… look, let's just not talk anymore."

"Fine."

They both fell silent again.

It was some small amount of time later that the silence was broken again. Outside, Edom heard a hammering of tools against the wall. She started with a small gasp.

Azura cast her a questioning look.

_I got startled. So what._ Edom turned away from her and continued working.

After a while, the hammering evened out, started to sound almost like a beat. Edom found herself smiling a little. She started to purposefully sway back and forth with the broom. _One, two, three, one, two, three…_

* * *

_Working with this girl is hard_, Azura thought, working on the corners of the room. _I've met bad people, but she… just seems to bring out the worst in me. She obviously hasn't done much _real_ work in her life, so now she thinks she has the right to_\- Azura looked over at her.

Edom was moving back and forth, as if dancing. The broom barely touched the floor.

_Okay, now she's not even trying._ Azura stopped sweeping. "What are you doing?"

Edom didn't stop what she was doing. "Doing a little something called 'having fun.' You should try it sometime, it's greaaaat."

The anger in Azura's gut started forming again. "No thanks, I'm doing what I'm _supposed_ to, instead of just messing around."

Edom started spinning and twirling around the room, swinging the broom in front of her. "Oh, is my fun interfering with your oh so important 'work'? So sorry." The dust that had accumulated in the broom was flying out and getting on the walls.

_And now she's making things even _worse. "Stop." Azura took a step forward.

Edom just kept spinning. "Nah, I think I'll keep go-"

The end of the broom whacked Azura in the face.

Silence fell.

* * *

Edom hadn't meant to hit her. She really hadn't. She fumbled to find words. "Look, I-"

Suddenly, Azura brought her broom up, smacking Edom's broom out of her hands and onto the floor. Edom could see her Aura shimmer.

Edom's guilt dropped like a rock. "You want a fight? Fine! _Let's dance_!" She picked up her broom and detached the two halves, holding them like she would her daggers. She swung them towards Azura.

Azura dodged. She, too, detached the two halves of the broom. "My turn."

That's when the battle really began. It was a flurry of attacks on both sides. The sound of metal clanging and the speed and intensity of the fight made everything else disappear.

It lasted about half a minute.

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH."

In a matter of seconds, Edom was on the floor, breath knocked out of her lungs, still not quite sure what happened.

Azura also seemed to be in a similar state.

Oliver Fafnir was standing over them, clearly unhappy. "The new students will be arriving here in a half hour. I came here expecting this area to have been cleaned."

Edom felt indignant. She stood up. "Look, she started-"

"I don't care who started it. You can consider your rewards forfeit. You're lucky I don't punish you further." He paused. "Honestly, if you continue to show such behavior when forming teams, you won't last long at Flare. I expected more from BOTH of you."

Azura was covering her face with her hand. "I'm really sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"Sorry, sir," Edom mumbled.

Oliver Fafnir took a look around. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "It looks like you made this place even worse than it was before."

Edom also looked at the walls. They were covered with dust, probably caused by swinging the brooms around so much.

"You two are dismissed. I'll speak with you later." Oliver Fafnir waved them away.

Edom glanced at Azura.

Azura was still covering her face, but Edom had the feeling that she was returning the look through the gaps in her fingers.

Edom turned around and stormed off.

* * *

Bjarte felt disoriented.

_You'd think, with all those months spent teaching me how to get used to all these things, that I would._ He looked around the crowded jet, with people talking and jumping around. _Nope. _He sighed and straightened his silk cravat. _This outfit is making me itch._ He ran his fingers through his short, curly white hair.

"Mr. Hallbjörn, you look uncomfortable. Why don't you take a seat?" Mr. Wichtel, Bjarte's current attendant, gestured to the seat next to him.

Bjarte nodded and sat down, still uneasily watching his surroundings. "I'm still not really used to this." His accent suddenly sounded strange in his ears, awkwardly out of place in this world. Just like the rest of him.

"Understandable." Mr. Wichtel paused, then continued in a low voice. "Just remember that you aren't to give any indication of that. Or your other… unique qualities."

Bjarte had been given this talk many times. "Sure," he said.

"I know people have told you that several times by now. I'm sure you don't want to dishonor your family." Mr. Wichtel looked out the window. "Looks like we've arrived. I'll take care of your luggage for you. Goodbye, Mr. Hallbjörn."

"Goodbye," Bjarte replied.

The jet landed. Soon enough, the doors opened, and people started spilling out.

_I guess I should just… follow the people_. Bjarte went along with the crowd. He could see people staring at him. It didn't ease his anxiety.

_I have no idea what I'm doing._

_ I wish Brody were here._

* * *

_The new students are here!_ Aurora was excited. The work had been fairly… uneventful, but now new people had arrived, and she was ready to make some new friends. _Not that Crimson isn't a good friend, but it's always great to make new ones!_ Plus, Crimson had been considerably more moody ever since she had come back from cleaning, despite Aurora's best attempts to cheer her up. _Maybe bringing back a new friend for her to meet will cheer her up_, she thought. _Couldn't go as badly as last time, could it?_ She suppressed that last thought.

All the new students were wandering outside- stretching their legs after the flight, most likely. She could see all sorts of new and interesting faces-

**Whumpf**. Aurora ran directly into what felt like a wall. She stumbled backwards and looked up.

What she had thought was a wall was a man. A really, REALLY big man. With a thick frame. He towered over her, white hair gleaming in the sunlight. Aurora could barely see his bright blue eyes.

Aurora suddenly had many regrets. "I am SO sorry! I-I didn't mean to- I just wasn't looking where I was going, and-"

The man suddenly put his hands out. "I-It's okay! It's fine!" He leaned back a little, and suddenly Aurora could see his face. He seemed more surprised than anything.

Awkwardly, Aurora held her hand out. "I'm… Aurora. Aurora Labroche. What's your name?"

He cautiously grabbed her hand. It was about twice the size of hers. "I'm Bjarte… Hallbjörn." He shook her hand once and let go.

Aurora smiled, feeling a little less nervous. "So, uh, what brings you to Flare, um… Mr. Hallbyern?" She was pretty sure she hadn't pronounced that correctly.

He rubbed his head and looked around. "Uh, learning? I mean, I guess that's the reason we're all here."

Aurora started. _He's a student?_ "Oh. Oh! You're a student? I'm so sorry, I thought that… you know, since you're so…" The awkwardness returned. _This is not going as planned._

He laughed, equally awkward. "It's okay."

"Yo, Aurora!"

Aurora felt a finger tap her shoulder. She looked around.

Crimson was there, looking like she was in a much better mood. "Hey, who are you talking to-" Crimson trailed off. "Whoah. You're a big dude."

Aurora looked at her in horror.

Bjarte blinked a few times. "Um… thanks?"

Crimson shot her hand out. "The name's Crimson. What's yours?"

Bjarte started to reach out his hand. "Bjarte Hallbjörn."

Crimson lowered her hand before he could reach it. "Wait. Beyart. Byarti… hey, can I just call you Bart?"

Bjarte looked nonplussed. "Uh… sure?"

"Great. So hey, Aurora, the reason I came out here is that I heard we're allowed to actually _pick_ our teams, and I just wanted to call dibs on _you_." Crimson put her arm around Aurora. "Dibs!"

Aurora giggled. "Okay, then I call dibs on you, too!"

Bjarte seemed confused. "Uh, what's this about teams?"

"Teams! You know, pretty much every Hunter school involves forming a team of four to fight monsters and stuff."

"Oh." He only seemed a little less confused.

Crimson looked him up and down. "Don't worry, you can totally be on our team. You look like you're used to action."

Bjarte gave a bewildered grin. "Uh, okay." The grin faded. "Wait, how-"

The school speakers crackled to life. "Students, please make your way to the assembly hall. I repeat. Students, please make your way to the assembly hall."

Crimson jumped up and down. "Come on, let's go!" She grabbed both Aurora and Bjarte's hands and started dragging them in the direction of the front doors.

Something occurred to Aurora. "Wait, who would be our fourth member?"

"I dunno," Crimson replied. "I guess we'll figure it out later!"

* * *

Azura heard the speaker crackle to life. "Students, please make your way to the assembly hall. I repeat. Students, please make your way to the assembly hall."

_Well, I guess it's time to go._ Azura put away the book she was reading and looked up.

She saw Edom dragging along her friend Aurora and… someone she hadn't met before. A tall guy with white hair.

_Looks like she's expanded her posse. Great._ Azura sighed and started to walk to the assembly hall.

"Hold on one moment, Miss Graywood."

Azura turned around.

It was Mr. Fafnir. "There's something I wanted to talk about with you first."

Azura felt uneasy. "What is there to talk about, sir?"

"I think you know what I'm referring to." Mr. Fafnir expanded his arms. "What WAS that earlier today? You don't seem like the type to get into fights. In fact, your record said you've only gotten into a fight once, on your second day of combat school. History repeating itself?" Mr. Fafnir cleaned his glasses.

Azura shook her head. "I lost my temper. That's all." She thought back to the incident- how much it hurt when the broom hit her face, the anger sparking up inside her. "I promise it won't happen again, sir."

"That's not what I'm concerned about." He put his glasses back on and gave her a sharp, inquisitive look. "You've only known this young woman for what, two days now? And yet she made you so angry that you lashed out at her. Why is that?"

Azura shrugged. "I'm just… irritated that I've come out of combat school and yet I still see her type." She was surprised at how bitter her voice sounded.

Mr. Fafnir's eyebrows rose. "Her type? Pray tell, what is her type?"

_I shouldn't have said that._ "Sir, I-"

"Miss Graywood, it seems like you already have an idea of who this young woman is, despite only knowing her for two days, at most." His gaze softened. "I've seen your records. I know you've been bullied."

Azura felt herself harden.

"I'm not saying this as a form of pity. I'm saying this because I know how bullying can make you… jaded. I wasn't always known as 'The Dragon,' you know."

Azura felt the shell soften. She looked up in surprise.

Mr. Fafnir glanced in the direction of the assembly hall. "I have to leave soon. But know this: you've been accepted here for a reason. And so has Miss Cadenza. I don't think she's the girl _you_ think she is... even if she is a troublemaker." He cleared his throat. "And if you approach her with an open mind, I think you'll be surprised at what you might find. Goodbye, Miss Graywood." Mr. Fafnir left.

Azura considered his words. _Open my mind?_ She shook her head. _There isn't much point to opening my mind if I'm just going to be disappointed._ She went to the assembly hall.

* * *

_Well, I was feeling awkward earlier, but I __**think**__ I've made some friends._ Bjarte looked down at Aurora and Crimson. _I think?_

"Uggh, why is this _taking_ so long?" Crimson was waving her arms around. "Just make the announcement already!"

Aurora shrugged and gave a nervous giggle. "I guess they're still making some arrangements?"

Crimson snorted. "Some arrangements. It's taking a really-" She stopped. Suddenly, her expression became bitter. She turned away.

Aurora frowned. "What's wrong, Crimso-" Aurora seemed to see something, and her expression became a panicked grin. "Oh, Azura! Hi, it's so good to see you!"

Bjarte looked around.

On the other side of Bjarte was a girl he hadn't seen before, a girl dressed in very… simple clothing. Practical, even. It was a welcome spot of familiarity for Bjarte.

"What are you doing here," Crimson muttered.

"Azura" blinked. "Is there a problem?"

An awkward silence ensued. Bjarte looked between Crimson and Azura. _Did I miss something-?_

Aurora still had on a painful grin. Suddenly, she perked up. "Oh! Hey, you two haven't met each other yet! Azura, this is… um…"

"Just call me Bart." _I guess I better get used to that name._

"Right! This is Bart, and Bart, this is Azura."

"Hello," Bjarte said.

"Hi," Azura replied.

Another silence occurred, broken only by what sounded like teeth grinding.

Then he heard a tapping coming from the front of the room. The assembly hall fell silent.

A man dressed in green stepped onstage. "Good afternoon. For those of you who don't know, I am Oliver Fafnir, Deputy Headmaster, and I'd like to officially welcome you to Flare Academy. Unfortunately, our Headmaster isn't available for a speech. However, I will say this: we're glad to have you here. You have a long journey ahead of you.

"Tomorrow, orientation will begin. You'll be transported to the White Woods at nine, where you'll begin a series of trials that will determine which teams you are placed in. I recommend that you get a good night's rest to prepare. That is all." He stepped down from the podium.

_Woods?_ Bjarte smiled. _Woods are just my kind of place._

* * *

Edom rolled her eyes. "_Finally_. After all that boring stuff, we get to the good part."

"Yes," she heard Azura say. "All that boring 'work.' Which was necessary to help the academy."

Edom spun around. "Why are you even _here_? Just to insult me? You screwed up back there, too!"

Azura sighed and shook her head. "It was obviously a mistake to come over here. I'll be leaving now." She turned and walked away.

_Good riddance._ Edom glared at her and turned to face Aurora.

Aurora looked… concerned. "Why do you hate her so much?"

Edom threw up her hands. "She criticizes everything I do! Why _wouldn't_ I hate her? Who does she think she is, anyway?"

Aurora looked like she was thinking hard. "I don't know, but 'Graywood' is the name of a well-known goods manufacturer in Alain. It seems like her family would be wealthy." Aurora splayed out her hands. "There! That's something that you have… in common…" Aurora trailed off.

The air was filled with yet another silence.

Suddenly, Bart spoke. "Is there someplace to eat around here?"

* * *

Bjarte heard people start to whisper.

"Hey, have you heard about the rich hunk that came down from northern Atlas?"

"He's part of the Hallbjörn family, right? I didn't know there was a son."

"Apparently, he was just living in their mansion up north. He only recently moved down here."

"Is that him over there? Wow, he's cute."

Then there were giggles.

Bjarte hunched over his dinner and tried to be inconspicuous. _I think that this only works in the woods,_ he thought. _I hope they aren't planning on… "courting" me._ He remembered the only crush he'd had, a girl named Helena. He had tried to court her.

It did not go well.

Crimson was looking at him in fascination. "Hey, did you really come down from the north?"

Bjarte froze, a huge bite of fish in his mouth. "Hm?"

"I dunno, they were saying you came from northern Atlas. So did you?"

Bjarte swallowed the bite of fish. "Uh, yes."

Aurora looked pleased. "Oh! I've always wanted to go up there. What's it like?"

"Um… cold. Colder. Than here."

Crimson propped up her head. "And what're the cities like?"

Bjarte thought for a moment. "They're… nice?"

Aurora smiled at him, then looked down at his dinner. Her expression changed to one of alarm. "Oh! Is your fish raw?"

Bjarte looked down at the fish. "…Yes." He suddenly remembered. "Yes!" _People here aren't supposed to eat raw fish! Crud!_

"That's bad! You can get food poisoning! Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm okay! I think. Am I supposed to be okay?"

Aurora looked worried. "Well, just let us know if you start feeling sick, okay?"

Bjarte nodded. "Sure."

Crimson started saying something to Aurora. Aurora turned away.

Bjarte sighed and took another small, sneaky bite of the fish.

_I can't wait to be back in the woods._

* * *

Cold wind blew on Edom's face.

They were outside the White Woods. It was a forest of tall spruce trees with what looked like gray needles. They were covered in snow.

_Finally. After all this wait, I __**finally**__ get to show what I'm made of._ She looked around. She could see Bart and Aurora off at different points. Aurora smiled at her and waved.

Edom smiled and waved back.

Oliver Fafnir stood in front of the line of students, along with a tall, hooded figure.

Edom squinted. _I can't see their face._

Oliver Fafnir looked at the figure.

The figure nodded.

Oliver Fafnir spoke. "Today you will go through a series of trials in order to determine which team you end up with. You've been given a small bag with an item inside of it. You are to find the tree with the sign displaying the same symbol." Oliver Fafnir pointed to the Woods. Edom could see signs in between the tree canopies. "The person you meet there will be your teammate for the next four years of your life."

_It's random? _Edom felt her heart sink. _Crap. _She looked down at her bag. _C'mon, please let me get Aurora, please let me get Aurora…_

"Once you have met up with your teammate, you are to make your way to the center of the woods, where you are to choose one of the artifacts there. Afterward, you are to get to the base of that hill-" He pointed to a hill beyond the forest. "-at which point the trials will end and we will head back to Flare." He paused a moment before continuing. "You have until sundown to accomplish all of this. And there ARE Grimm in this forest, so I sincerely hope you came battle prepared. If you haven't brought your weapons, speak up now." He stopped.

A silence ensued. Nobody spoke.

Edom reached into her sleeve pockets, where her daggers were present. _Gotcha_, she thought with a smile.

He nodded. "Good. Now, on the count of three, you are to head into the forest. Once inside, you are to open your bag and pull out your object. After that, make your way to the designated tree. One… two…"

Edom's pulse quickened. She got ready to run.

"Three."

Edom fired off like a rocket. She was in the woods within seconds.

_Let's get started_, she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Edom was like a blur, weaving through the trees. After about a couple minutes, she stopped, panting. _This should be far in enough_, she thought, breathing heavily. She reached into her bag and pulled out the object.

It was a toy top. Made of wood. _Huh. I never really played with stuff like this when I was a kid._ She spun it on her hand. It fell over almost immediately. She put it back in the bag. _So, I go to the tree with the sign of the top_. She started walking.

A few minutes later, she found the tree. It was a solitary tree in the middle of a clearing. She walked over to it and leaned against it. _I REALLY hope I got Aurora. Or that Bart guy. He was cool. But if not them, someone I can relate to. Someone who will get me._

A few more minutes passed.

_Sheesh, they're taking a while. I guess I must have outrun a lot of the other students. _Edom grinned. _Still, I hope they come soon._

_ The suspense is __**killing**__ me._

* * *

Aurora looked at her object.

It looked like a spindle.

_Great! I've used these dozens of times before!_ She put it back in her bag. _Now, to find the tree!_ She started walking.

As she walked, some mixture of tenseness and sadness seemed to build up in her. _This is reminding me too much of the village_, she thought. _I can't decide whether I'm sad or terrified._ She shook her head. _I just need to get to the tree! Then I won't be alone, and all of this will be easier!_ She picked up her pace.

After a while, she saw a sign displaying the spindle up ahead. _Okay, just calm down. It could be Bart, or Crimson. And even if it isn't, it's almost certainly someone you can get along with!_

Aurora broke the line of trees.

* * *

Edom heard the sound of pine needles brushing against each other. She stood up straight. _Finally! Sheesh, they kept me waiting long enough._ She looked up at her partner.

* * *

It was Bart.

He was leaning against the tree, fiddling with something metal. He looked up at Aurora.

Aurora's heart soared with relief. "Bart! Hi!" She ran up to him.

He seemed equally relieved. "Hi!"

Aurora took a moment to catch her breath. "Thank goodness! I-I just, you know, someone I know, and…" She laughed. It came out as some kind of nervous giggle.

He laughed too. "So, you got this, uh, thing?" He pulled out a spindle from his bag.

Aurora nodded. "Yes! The spindle! I got it." She took it out to show it to him, then put it back in her bag. "I guess we're partners for the next four years!"

"I guess so." Bart nodded. Then he craned his neck, looking curious. "So, what do you have on your back?"

"Oh, this?" Aurora took out her wheel. She gave it a spin. "This is Rêveroue. It's my weapon." She put it back. "What are yours? Are they those gauntlets?"

"These?" He held them out. They were, in fact, silver metal gauntlets. They had two different symbols on them: on one, a sun, on the other, a moon. "Their names are Dögun and Kvöld." He looked around. "We better get moving."

"Huh? Oh, right! Back into the… trees, and such…" Aurora glanced at the trees. She was not looking forward to going back in.

Bart gave her a curious look.

"Right! Yes! Let's go!" Aurora did her best to fake enthusiasm.

They walked back into the trees.

_I really hope that Crimson got a good partner, too_, Aurora thought.

* * *

Azura.

Edom couldn't do it. _No. _"Oh, no. No, no, no. You are _not_ my partner."

Azura looked equally displeased. She was holding a wooden top in her hand. She put it in her bag and turned around. "We need to go now."

"No. I don't care what they said, you are _not_-"

Azura turned back around, her blue eyes harsh. "I don't like you either. But we're in a zone full of Grimm right now. Either we go together, get through these trials, then talk to the Headmaster about switching teams, or _you_ stay here, and I go ahead without you." Azura spun back around and started heading into the woods.

Edom stood there, anger gnawing at her temple. _I'm gonna have to go with her, aren't I._ She threw up her hands. "Ugh. _Fine_. But don't think this gives you the right to boss me around."

Edom followed her into the woods.

* * *

Aurora and Bjarte had been walking for about fifteen minutes, and they had both been quiet for most of the time.

Bjarte felt very at home among the trees. This was certainly an environment he was used to. _It's been WAY too long since I was last in this place. But…_ He looked back at Aurora.

Aurora was following him just fine, but she seemed a lot more… tense, somehow. Tense and unhappy. When she saw him looking at her, she gave him a smile.

Bjarte turned back around. _Something's bothering her. Should I say something? Am I supposed to?_ "Um…"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"No. Sorry." Bjarte paused. "Are… you okay?"

"What?"

"I don't know. You just seem very tense." Bjarte turned back towards her.

Aurora was shifting uneasily from foot to foot. "I… well… I just don't like the woods all that much." Aurora gave a strained-sounding laugh.

_Doesn't like the woods? _"Why not?"

"Oh, you know. The trees are… really close together, and the… you know, it's just really quiet. Feels kind of lonely, I guess." Aurora had something sad in her eyes.

_Huh_. Bjarte attempted what he hoped was a comforting smile. "Well, you don't have to feel lonely. I'm right here."

Aurora seemed cheered up by that. "Yeah! Thanks!"

Suddenly, they heard a growl nearby.

* * *

The past fifteen minutes that Azura and Edom had been walking had been fairly quiet, thankfully. Azura had expected her to complain more; after all, sweeping the hall was one thing, but now they were actually walking through the woods. _I guess she has enough experience walking through places like this._ Azura looked up at the sky._ Let's see. If my calculations are right, we should make it to the center in about twenty minutes at this pace._

"Why are we going so slowly?"

_Here we go_. "Our pace right now is fine. We'll be there soon enough. We don't want to wear ourselves out if we get attacked by Grimm."

"Yeah, but if we move fast enough, we wouldn't even have to fight anything. At least we could go faster than _this_. By the time we get there, most of the artifacts will probably have been taken." Edom sounded sullen.

Azura sighed inwardly. "If we move faster, we risk being noticed. And getting to the artifacts is only half of the journey, anyway. We don't want to be fatigued on the way to the mountain. The Grimm will be even more likely to attack us then. Didn't you ever take Grimm Theory, Edom?"

Edom stopped in her tracks. "Don't call me that."

Azura didn't stop walking. "Isn't that your name?"

Edom started walking again. "Yeah, but _don't call me that_."

_What's the point of a name if you never use it?_ "What should I call you, then?"

"I don't know. Just… not that."

Azura kept her eyes ahead. "Why don't you want to be called Edom?"

"None of your business."

"If we're going to be partners for this, we might as well be honest with each other." Azura shook her head. _Why do I even care? Why am I even asking? This is a waste of time._

"Yeah, and it's honestly _none of your business_." Edom paused. "Look, it's just a really stupid name, okay? I hate it. So don't call me by it."

"Is that why you introduced yourself as 'Crimson' when we first met?"

Azura heard Edom stomp her foot. "Why are we even talking? We're moving even slower now!"

Azura's anger bubbled up again. "No, I accounted for that. We'll be fine. But we should keep moving."

"What, can you just not walk that fast? Is that what this is?"

"_This_ is-"

Suddenly, Azura heard a deep, guttural growl.

Crimson sounded panicked. "Get out of the way!"

Azura ducked. A dark shape soared over her and landed in front of her.

Beowolf.

It lunged toward Azura.

Azura quickly drew her one of her batons, smacking it on the skull. She heard the sound of bone cracking.

The Beowolf stumbled back, confused. It made a half-hearted lunge forward.

Azura took a step back and brought her baton down again, breaking its spine.

The Beowolf howled, then went limp.

Silence followed.

Edom was the first to speak. "So… Beowolf, huh?"

Azura shook her head. "This is weird. Beowolves normally hunt in-"

A howl sounded nearby.

_Packs_. "We have to go."

Edom rolled her eyes. "Oh, _now_ we're running."

Azura ignored her.

They began to run.

* * *

It looked like there was a pair of Ursi up ahead. They were wandering around an otherwise empty clearing.

For some reason, Aurora felt relieved. _I was wondering when we'd be attacked. At least I know now._

A hand pushed Aurora to the ground. She looked up, startled.

Bart was lying down beside her. He shot her an apologetic grin. "Sorry. It's just that they haven't detected us yet."

Aurora nodded. "Do you think we should sneak past them?"

Bart thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Not really. We could try sneaking through the trees, but there's a chance that they'd hear us." He looked ahead. "Besides, they're catching on to our scent. I think we better take care of them."

Aurora looked ahead as well.

He was right. They were sniffing the air and looking around.

"I'm going to see if I can surprise them. If it looks like it isn't working, you back me up."

Aurora frowned. "Surprise them? Are you sure you don't-" She looked over at him.

He was gone.

Aurora blinked in wonder. _How can such a big person be so __**quiet**__?_ She looked ahead at the clearing.

He was behind one of the Ursi. It was odd, but… he almost looked translucent. Aurora squinted, but he didn't become any easier to see.

Suddenly, he brought down his gauntlet into the Ursa's shoulder. It fell over without so much of a noise.

_He is good at this. Did he really grow up in a mansion?_ Aurora shook her head in disbelief.

He managed to sneak up behind the other one, who had seen the dead body of the other Ursa, and prepared to perform the same move.

Suddenly the Ursa turned around.

It spotted him. It let out a loud roar and swiped at him.

He dodged it and drove his fist into its shoulder.

It fell over, lifeless.

Bart shook his head, his expression sour.

Aurora stood up. "Wow! That was amazing! I haven't ever seen anyone fight like that before!"

He seemed pleased. "Thanks! I used to do this all the time in-" His expression changed to a panicked one. "-my mansion up north! You know, with my, uh… personal trainer?" He laughed and scratched his head.

Aurora smiled at him. "Sounds like you had a very good teacher!"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess you _could_ say that."

More growls came from the trees around the clearing.

* * *

Azura and Edom managed to get to a clearing before the Beowolves caught up. They stopped and caught their breath.

"We should be able to fight them now," Azura said. "We have more space."

Edom rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know." _What does she think I am, an idiot?_

The Beowolves entered the clearing and began to surround them.

Edom pulled out her daggers.

A tense silence filled the air as nobody moved.

Edom started tapping the ground with one of her feet. _One, two, three. One, two three._

One of the Beowolves lunged forward.

_Time for a waltz,_ Edom thought.

* * *

Azura held her batons at the ready, but it seemed like none of the Beowolves were attacking her.

They were too focused on Edom.

As they attacked her, she spun out of the way. She leapt and twirled as they got close to her, striking them with her daggers as they got near.

It was like she was dancing on air.

Azura expected to see her smiling or something, but her eyes were narrowed. She seemed to be in a trance.

Azura begrudgingly had to admit that she was impressed.

_But her moves are too intricate. This is taking too long._

Azura saw a blur out of the corner of her eye. She ducked, and a claw whizzed over her head.

_Stop getting distracted_, Azura told herself. She readied her batons.

* * *

Four Ursi surrounded them in the clearing.

Bjarte had to admit, he was confused. _Ursi are usually more solitary than this, why would they attack in such a large group?_ Two Ursi made sense. This didn't. He looked over at Aurora.

Aurora looked pretty nervous, but Bjarte was surprised at just how levelheaded she seemed to be.

One of the Ursi lunged toward Aurora.

Aurora swung the wheel towards the Ursa.

Bjarte watched in awe as she started tearing into the Ursa, wielding the wheel like a flail. Her eyes were hard, much different than the gentle eyes he had seen earlier. It was almost unnerving. But also very impressive.

Soon enough, the first Ursa was down. But she had attracted the attention of the others. They charged toward her.

Aurora continued to fight them, ducking around them or driving them back with her wheel.

A deep growl came from behind Bjarte. He turned around just in time to dodge a swipe from whatever was behind him. He jumped back.

It was an Ursa Major.

Bjarte's eyes widened. _This is not good._

The Ursa swiped at him again. He swerved around it and tried to catch its jaw with his fist. The Ursa knocked him back, and he flew a few feet.

_ Auggh._ He rubbed his hands gingerly. _Wait, where are my gauntlets?_

The gauntlets had come off.

They were behind the Ursa.

The Ursa charged toward him.

He ducked and tried to run past it, but the Ursa caught him in the gut and knocked him back again. He landed in the snow.

His arm hurt.

The Ursa turned towards Aurora.

_Aurora's so preoccupied fighting the Ursi, she won't see it coming!_ He rose to his feet.

The Ursa was large, much larger than him. And if Broderick had taught him anything, it was that he shouldn't fight the larger Grimm alone.

Bjarte was supposed to be terrified.

But rather than feeling the fear he should have, he felt a very different kind of emotion.

He was getting angry.

The claws came out.

* * *

So far, fighting the Beowolves had been fairly easy. Edom found that she had defeated most of the ones that were attacking her. _Now, they're mostly attacking Azura._ She looked in Azura's direction.

Azura's fighting style was different from hers. Edom hadn't noticed it earlier, but it was very… direct. Azura fought her enemies with a ruthless precision and practicality. No flourishes, no neat little moves. It was weird to watch.

Suddenly, one of the Beowolves clawed at Azura's face. She got knocked back a few steps. She seemed to be in pain.

_Sheesh. Can't even dodge? _Edom prepared to help her.

Suddenly, Azura started fighting more quickly and more furiously than before. She was hitting the Beowolves hard with each move. They were dropping like flies.

Edom blinked and rubbed her eyes.

She could have sworn that she saw blue flames burning at the ends of Azura's batons.

* * *

Aurora spun around, alternating between blocking the attacks of the Ursi and slicing at them. _This isn't enough,_ she thought. She swung the wheel in their direction and activated her semblance.

A golden dust showered down from the wheel. The Ursi stumbled backwards, their heads nodding with sleepiness.

Aurora took the opportunity to finish them off.

They fell with a crash.

Aurora looked around. _Okay, that's that! Now where's-_

There was an Ursa Major charging right at her.

Aurora, panicking, prepared to dodge out of the way.

Suddenly, the Ursa Major stopped, turning its head and swiping at its back.

Bart was riding it. He kept scratching its neck with his bare fingers, which were now covered in white hair.

_Oh! Oh, he needs help!_ Aurora rushed forward with the wheel. "Duck, Bart!"

Bart ducked back.

Aurora slashed at the Ursa's neck. The Ursa stumbled back, clearly wounded.

Bart let out a roar and beheaded the Ursa with a final blow. The Ursa fell forward, dead.

A silence filled the air.

Bart was breathing heavily. He stood up and clutched his arm.

"Bart?" Aurora hesitantly approached him.

Up closer, Aurora could see that he now had claws emerging from his hands, hands which were covered in what she had previously thought was white hair, but looked more like… fur.

_Is… is he-?_ "Bart, are you okay?"

Bart looked up.

His eyes had become fully black.

Aurora stood in shock.

_He's a Faunus._

* * *

The Beowolves lay dead in the clearing.

Edom could see smoke coming from the tips of Azura's batons. _So I didn't imagine that. Well, good for her, I guess._

Azura put away her batons. "That took way longer than it should have. Try not to dance around so much next time."

Edom felt enraged. "Hey, that's just the way I fight! And what were _you _doing, huh? Are you just jealous that your style is so boring compared to mine?"

Azura turned around. "It got the job done, didn't it? Not everyone learned to fight as 'fancily' as you." She turned back around. "Not everyone grew up in a castle."

Edom shook her head in disbelief. _Castle? What? _"Are you serious? Is all of this just because I'm rich? You're one to talk! Your family owns a merchandise line!"

Azura didn't respond. She started walking.

Irritated, Edom prepared to follow her, but something caught her eye.

There was a blue ribbon on the ground.

_Did it fall out of her hair?_ Edom picked it up. "Hey, you left your dumb ribbon behind."

Azura stiffened, frantically feeling her hair for the ribbon. She turned around. "Give it back."

Edom shrugged. "Pfft. You've insulted me, why should I-"

"_Give. It. Back_." Her voice was trembling. Edom saw fear, anger, and desperation in her eyes.

It scared Edom. "Sheesh. Fine. Here, have it back." She gave it to Azura.

Azura put it back in her hair with a long exhale.

_Wow. I guess she really likes that ribbon._ "Why is that ribbon so important to you, anyway?"

Azura didn't look at her. "That's none of your business."

Edom's eyebrow rose. "What did you say that one time? 'If we're going to be partners, we have to be honest with each other.' Isn't that what you said?"

Azura sighed deeply. After a moment's pause, she spoke. "It was a gift from my grandmother."

The answer surprised Edom. "Oh, yeah? Is she nice?"

"She's dead. She died a long time ago." Azura continued walking.

Edom felt a pang of guilt. "Oh."

They resumed their journey.

* * *

As Bjarte's pulse slowed down and the effects of the adrenaline faded away, it dawned on him just how much of a mistake he'd made.

_Oh. __**Crap.**_

Aurora was staring at him, eyes wide.

_I must look like a demon,_ he thought. He retracted his claws. He wasn't sure if his eyes had gone back to normal yet. _I hope she doesn't kill me_. He cleared his throat. "I-"

Aurora looked at his arm and gasped. "You're hurt!"

"Huh?" Bjarte looked down at his arm. It had a gash in it and it was bleeding. "Oh, yeah."

Aurora looked tentative. "Is- is it okay if I treat it?"

Bjarte blinked. "Wait, you don't want to kill me?"

"Um, no. Do… you want to kill me?"

"No!"

"Well, then, we're good!" Aurora laughed nervously. "So, uh, are you going to let me treat your arm?"

"It's okay, I could probably treat it mysel-"

Aurora grabbed his other arm and pulled him down before he could protest. In a flash, she got out a medical kit. She pulled out some antiseptic and some swabs. "This might hurt, okay?"

Bjarte was a little bewildered. "Sure."

She started swabbing the wound.

Bjarte winced a little.

"So, um… what happened back there? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Well…" He briefly looked down at his hands. They were normal again. "Sometimes, when I'm in a bad spot, I can do that. I mean, technically, I can do it in any situation, but I try to only do it when I'm in a tough situation."

"Are you a… Faunus?"

"Yeah, I think so. At least, that's what people tell me."

"You don't know?" Aurora sounded confused.

"I didn't really spend a lot of time around other Faunus. I did meet them occasionally, but…"

"Okay, but wouldn't you know if your parents were Faunus?" Aurora paused. "I'm sorry, was that an insensitive question?"

"No, it's fine. Well, I guess my father was a Faunus and my mother was human."

Aurora stopped, shocked. "What?"

Bjarte shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. But… since my mother's a member of a wealthy family,_ and_ I was born out of wedlock, they didn't really want me around. So… they left me in the woods."

Aurora's face was frozen in speechless horror.

"I mean, they didn't _leave_ leave me in the woods," Bjarte reassured her. "They left me in the care of Broderick."

"But that's still horrible! Wait, who's Broderick?"

Bjarte smiled. "Broderick Woodcutter. He was my mentor. He raised me, and we lived in the woods together."

Aurora seemed confused. "But…you're here right now. If they abandoned you, why would they want you back?" Aurora paused. "I- that came out wrong, I'm so sorry-"

"No, I understand." He shrugged. "I don't really know. They just came out to find me in the woods one day, took me to the city for a few months, and enlisted me into this school. And they told me to never let anyone know I'm a Faunus." He sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. "Which I obviously failed miserably at."

"Hey, it's okay!" Aurora patted his arm. "You shouldn't have to hide who you are."

He lowered his hand and smiled. "Thanks."

There was a silence.

Bjarte cleared his throat. "Look, um, please don't tell anyone else about this. If it got back to my family that I didn't keep it secret, well…"

Aurora nodded, looking a little sad. "Okay, if you say so." She gently lifted his arm up. "Well, I've done what I can for it, now it just needs some time to heal." She looked worried. "We might get attacked by Grimm, though. You might not be able to fight with that arm in that case."

Bjarte looked down at his arm. "I wouldn't be surprised if it healed fairly quickly. But if it doesn't, well…" He smiled sheepishly. "I guess you'll have to protect me. Sorry."

"It's fine! It's no problem. I am at least moderately certain I can do that! I think." Aurora grinned. "So, should we get going?"

"Sure! Just let me get my gauntlets." He looked around the clearing. He spotted them on the other side.

"Okay!"

After grabbing his gauntlets and putting them on- more securely, this time- Bjarte and Aurora left the clearing.

* * *

Oliver looked at the footage from the battle, eyebrows raised. _Well. Grane Hallbjörn didn't mention anything about __**this**_. Oliver wasn't terribly surprised. It was a small portion of people that weren't hostile towards Faunus, and the Hallbjörn family wasn't exactly a part of that group. _I guess I should have a conversation with Mr. Hallbjörn later._ He turned his attention away from the footage.

A third of the teams had made it to the mountain so far with the artifacts. They milled around, some of them drinking hot chocolate and sitting by the jets.

In the woods, Oliver could see flashes of bright color and could hear gunfire as students fought the Grimm. _Looks like we have an able batch of Huntsmen and Huntresses this year,_ he thought.

Mist started appearing on one side of the woods.

Oliver's brow furrowed. _Could that-?_

That wasn't normal mist. But it looked remarkably familiar.

Oliver brought up his scroll and called the Headmaster.

The scroll kept ringing. _Come on, pick up…_

The Headmaster's calm voice came through. "What is it, Oliver?"

"Mist is forming in the forest. I think we've got another Behemoth."

The Headmaster paused before responding. "Must be the greater amount of students this year."

"Should I send help? I'm not sure they're prepared for something like this."

"You know our policies. We don't intervene unless absolutely necessary. After all, there's a chance that it will ignore the students."

Oliver sighed. "Fine. I'll update you if anything changes."

"You're doing great work, Oliver." The feed cut out.

Oliver lowered the scroll.

_I really hope this isn't a mistake._


End file.
